The Vacation
by rjwagner
Summary: Fareeha "Pharah" Amari, a young woman whose duty it is to protect the innocent just like her mother before her. Our young heroine finds herself vacationing on the beautiful Cayman Islands when disaster hits the small island. Separated from her iconic suit and weapons, she must survive against foes that would bring harm to those she swore to protect.
1. Chapter 1

The Vacation

By Ryan J. Wagner

Chapter 1 (Fareeha Amari)

Staring out into the blue waves of the sea before myself, I felt at peace with myself for the first time in a long time.  
I felt the cold distilled water against my bare feet as I stared out into the horizon.

As I gazed outward to the sea, I could see numerous vacationers both human and Omnic enjoying their lives in peace. Looking outward to these smiling faces, you can't help but forget about the crisis that engulfed the world years before.

As I turned back around I was pleasantly greeted with the sight of a young woman carrying a little girl on her back with both of their arms were outstretched like a

The pair of them laughs ever-so-innocently as they 'flew' around the beach before stopping near my location. "Okay, Kate...Air-Mummy needs to refuel before taking off again."

The child let out a playful 'aw' moan before sliding off her mother's back and ran off to play with a few other kids.

I slowly raised my hand up to my right eye and covered both the eye and the tattoo that ran down from it, remembering a time when I was ignorant of the world around myself.

Standing there, I felt a tear swell up in my right eye and gripped the two dog tags that draped around my neck.

The young Caucasian woman with light blue hair turned her head to me and cocked her head to the right. "You okay?" She asked in a curious tone.

I took a deep breath and simply nodded my head. "Yeah...uh...there was something in my eye," I said back to the woman while trying to make a convincing gesture with my hand.

She smiled at me and placed both of her hands on her back before approaching me. The mother turned her gaze to my eye and eyed the tattoo that ran down from it. "Your tattoo, it's beautiful."

I was taken aback by the random compliment and hid my blushed appearance with a grateful smile. "Thank you, it's the Eye of Horus. I got it to honor my mother."

The woman interlocked her hands together and continued to smile. "That's amazing. Was she in the military too?" She asked before immediately throwing up her hand. "Wait, before asking something like that I feel like you should know my name. It's Janet."

She extended her hand out to me and shook hands with one another. "Phar-Fareeha Amari, pleasure to meet you, Janet. And yes, my mother was in the military back in Egypt. She was...a soldier."

Upon hearing that, she covered her mouth in shock from hearing my tone. "I'm sorry, it's not my place to ask about such matters. I lost my father to the Omnic Crisis twenty years ago. He, along with thousands of others fought to protect the world against the Omnics."

I nodded my head and turned back around to face the bright blue sea. "It's amazing, isn't it? Thirty years ago something like this would never have been possible. A beautiful tropical resort where both human and Omnic can meet and play in peace." Janet said after stepping up beside me.

I turned my head to the woman with the intent of responding when my phone started to vibrate. Janet told me to take the call and hurried off to play more with her kid.

"Pharah here," I said through the speaker.

"Fareeha. It's Brigitte. Are you free to talk?" The German-accented woman asks in a soft-spoken manner.

I smiled to myself upon hearing that and proceeded to put on my socks and shoes that rested at my feet. "Yeah, I'm free," I grunted as I slipped my boot onto my foot. "How's the old man doing?"

Brigitte chuckled softly and started to speak. "He's the same as always." She said to me with a soft laugh. "He is always getting into fights."

I chuckled again and shook my head as I finished putting my shoes back on and grabbed my black leather jacket. "That's Reinhardt for ya. He's lucky to have you with him, Brigitte."

"Sometimes I wonder that myself. Right now we're heading over to Numbani to offer extra protection for their Unity Parade. What about you, Fareeha?"

I smiled to myself and started to explain my current situation. "My boss at Helix figured I was working too much and made me take this mandatory vacation on the Cayman Islands. It's such a drag."

"You deserve it, Fareeha. You work so hard for Helix while protecting your country that I think you deserve a little R&R. Also, I'm sure your mother would agree that you need a break." Upon hearing that, I took a subtle breath and bit my lower lip. "I'm sorry, Fareeha...I-"

"It's cool," I said to her as I reached the parking lot near the beach and the resort. "I need to go; nice talking with you again, Brigitte," I said bitterly before hanging up on her and slid the phone back into my pocket and drove away on my motorcycle.


	2. Chapter 2

The Vacation

By Ryan J. Wagner

Chapter 2 (Fareeha Amari)

Driving down the road with my jacket flapping against my shoulders from the wind and my hair sputtering out of control, my mind started to drift towards a conversation I once had with Jack Morrison.

 **"Fareeha, remember there are only three things to remember in the heat of a fight."** Jack Morrison said to me upon placing his right hand on my shoulder. **"First: know your enemy. Knowing who you are fighting is paramount to your success in the field. Second: know what's important to you and what might be at stake if you lose. If you don't know what is important to you, then you might as well find a new path in life, because Overwatch isn't for those who don't have something they want to protect."** Jack said to me with a dark look in his left eye as he continued to look down at me.

I raised both of my hands to my mouth upon hearing that. **"And-and...what about the last one, Jack?"** I asked, slightly worried about an even harsher response than the previous.

He gazed into my eyes and started to calm down again. **The last one?"** He asked confusedly for a second before grinning. "Why it's the most important step of all." He said before kneeling down and place his hand on my shoulder. "Just be yourself, Fareeha. Protecting those who cannot protect themselves is what a natural born leader is; but only when you truly know who you are yourself can you hope to lead those around you to victory."

Thinking about that conversation with Jack, I revved the bike up and sped down the winding road.

Later that day, I stopped driving and found myself sitting in front of a tree on a hilltop that overlooked the entire resort. I was amazed by the fact that the resort was completely powered by the sun, thus making this grand resort one of the 'greenest' resorts in the world.

Sitting under the shade of the tree, I raised my cell phone up to my eyes and listened in on a news report by two middle-aged reporters. _"It has been three months since the attempted break-in at the Numbani National History Exhibit. The break-in was committed by the terrorists known only as WIDOWMAKER and REAPER. During the incident, the pair tried to steal away the infamous Doomfist Gauntlet."_

The woman stopped to allow her co-partner to begin speaking. _"However, it was thanks to the combined work of ex-Overwatch Agents TRACER and Winston that the gauntlet remained out of their hands."_

The woman turned to her partner and gave him a cold and confused look. _"I think I should remind my partner that Tracer and Winston are criminals just like Reaper and Widowmaker. The U.N. has already condemned their actions of vigilantism and made an announcement that the Petras Act is still in effect."_

The man hid his anger through a professional nod and waited until the video switched over to sports.

I couldn't help but shake my head in disgust. "Bureaucratic idiot...she knows that gauntlet would be in the hands of Talon right now had it not been for those heroes," I said to myself as I continued to sit there and gaze out into the distances. "What the hell am I doing with my life? I should be out there protecting the innocent, not guarding an installation that almost no one in the world knows about."

I let out a tired groan, ready to head back to my hotel room when a thought started to form inside my head.. "Numbani has come under numerous threats for its policy on equal rights for both its human and Omnic citizens. Because of these threats, the government of Numbani has requested for volunteers to protect and overwatch the Unity Parade and its festivities. Maybe Reinhardt and Brigitte would appreciate a little extra help."

With that idea cemented into my head, I took a deep breath and made my way back down to my motorcycle and drove off yet again.


	3. Chapter 3

The Vacation

By Ryan J. Wagner

Chapter 3 (Soldier 76)

"UGH!" The thug yelled as he violently crashed through the window, sputtering and rolling into the darkened room. I heard him moan through cries of agony and pain as I cumbersomely climbed through the shattered window with my trusty pulse rifle hanging from the strap on my back.

The shattered glass crunched and crackled under the weight of my boots upon entering the darkened house. The small abandoned household had a dank, musty smell to it with numerous dust particles dancing in the air.

The house itself was barren with worn-out furniture and depressing overtones to it. I slowly entered the blood-stained living room where Jose Ramirez was slowly crawling away from the pool of blood that resided at the base of the window.

Jose Ramirez was just some bald middle aged man with one bad eye and a limp leg. He was wearing a tattered white shirt drenched in his blood while wearing a pair of worn jeans.

Jose let out another painful gasp of air as he propped himself against the wall."Maldito seas...idiota.." The man muttered in Spanish as I walked past him and approached the blood-stained mantle.

I raised my head up to the beautifully hand-painted portrait of a human male, an omnic, and a little boy. The little boy was standing in the middle of the two adults. The man that stood slightly behind omnic-partner had both of his arms enclosed around his neck while the omnic had both of his hands placed on top of the boy's shoulders.

I gritted my teeth as soon as I heard Jose gurgle up a chuckle. "They deserved it...each one of them..." Jose said to me as he continued to moan from the pain. Hearing him say that, I turned around and snarled at the man while cracking the knuckles of my left hand. "They can't be trusted...those that are willing to trust those machines deserves the same fate as those..." He stopped and immediately coughed blood into his right hand. "..tin cans."

"Los Muertos is cancer on this city. You're nothing but a plague taking advantage of the city that sheltered you from the threats of the world." I said through the black mask covering my mouth.

Jose rebutted with a spit of blood to my face. "You know nothing of this...UGH!" He screamed out from the pain, gripping his stomach tightly in the process as he coughed up more blood on the floor.

I sighed under my breath, picked the man up and violently pinned him to the wall. "I know you were with the National Defense Force during the Omnic Crisis, but you were dishonorably discharged after the public learned that your platoon was sneaking Omnic tech across the border."  
He cried out as I tossed him across the damn room, knocking over a lounge chair in the process. "You served only five years in a minimum security prison after your lawyer abused a loophole in the system that got you off on a technicality...and now you're murdering innocent families after getting out."

Jose once again gasped in pain from the numerous bruises and broken bones that he had sustained during our conflict. Hovering over his bleeding body, I gripped him by the throat with my left hand and pinned his weaken body to the wall again. "They deserved it, each and every last freaking one of them. If they love their precious tin-cans so much they can burn in hell together for all we care."

I gritted my teeth in anger at the gangster and slammed my fist into his face. "THE WEINSTEIN'S!" I screamed and punch. "THE CAROLS!" I screamed and punch once more. "AND THE LAWSONS!" I repeated for the final time. "Each and every single one of them was murdered by you. What gives you the right to play God with the lives of Dorado's citizens?!"

His head swirled and dipped back and forth as blood infused saliva dripped to the floor below our feet. He slowly raised his cocked head to my face and flashed off his blood-stained teeth. "Because I can."

Hearing him say that I immediately drew my handgun, pulled the hammer down, placed the barrel against his stomach and pulled the trigger.

With that, an ear-piercing sound erupted from the weapon and in an instant, the man collapsed to the floor, motionless. His eyes lingered up to me with a look of horror as his brain finally caught up to him with what just happened. "Death is not your destiny, Jose. You will live a long healthy life inside Dorado's Prison Hospital for the Criminally Insane." I said to the paralyzed man with a chuckle before approaching the front door. "But at least you'll have some piece of mind knowing that the staff is omnic-exclusive."

Upon saying that, the man screamed and begged for me to put a bullet through his head. I shook my head, opened the front door and vanished into the nearest alleyway upon hearing police sirens in the distance.

I watched from the rooftops as the emergency response teams patched the man up and loaded him up into the back of the truck. "You think you're safe out there? You think you can hide in a world divided?" I asked to myself as I slowly turned around. "You're wrong because I'm here. Run if you want, but soon enough I will catch up and make you pay for your transactions against the world."

I took a deep breath after saying that and raised my head up to the moon that rested high above Dorado. "I will discover the truth no matter what."


End file.
